Vermont State Parks

Educators, take your students outside this fall for a fun, interactive, hands-on educational field trip in a state park. There is no cost for these educational programs, you just pay an entrance fee of $0.50 per person. Guided field trip experiences are available at: Branbury State Park in Salisbury Groton State Forest in Groton Jamaica State Park in Jamaica Little River State Park in Waterbury Mt. Ascutney State Park in Windsor Quechee State Park in Quechee Experienced Park Interpreters will design an experience to fit in your curriculum. Some available topics include: Forest Ecology Tree and Plant Identification Benthic Macroinvertebrates Ancient and recent cultural history Civilian Conservation Corps history Predator-Prey Relationships Geology   Mammals of Vermont Or request your own topic.   Please contact Rebecca Roy, Interpretive Program Manager, for more information or to book your field trip today: Rebecca.roy@vermont.gov More information i...

By Eric Bouchard, Assistant Ranger, Maidstone State Park Guts, Gold and Glory: A phrase often used to portray the drive and determination of Olympic athletes in their pursuits of victory. It is because of their efforts and inspirational stories that we watch and support our country’s top competitors. We here at Maidstone State Park are no different. In an effort to show our support for our hometown Olympians and to also promote an active lifestyle for our country’s youth, we hosted our very own Maidstone Olympics, this past Sunday afternoon. With five events, individuals and teams competed to see who was the best of the best. Interestingly enough, we had individuals participate from both the US and Canada, making the competition that much more fierce. In the end, however, it was apparent that everyone was a winner. Prizes were awarded to top competitors, including donated and hand-crafted Gold, Silver, and Bronze wooden medallions. It was certainly an afternoon to be remembered....

Off the Beaten Path: Programming Returns to  Maidstone Eric Bouchard, Assistant Ranger,  Maidstone   State Park What to do? What to do? Our family has driven so many hours to get to  Maidstone  and we have already exhausted all of the park’s recreational options. The closest town is at least a half hour away; and the kids are bored and crying that they want to go home. We want to stay to enjoy the peace and serenity the park has to offer, but we also know that that kids need to be entertained. Does this sound familiar? Well worry no more. We here at  Maidstone , realize that in today’s society, kids and adults alike have become too reliant on TV, computers and video games for entertainment and that when you are out camping, even though you want to relax, you also want to be entertained and engage in activities. That said, we have been diligently working to develop and deliver both educational and entertaining programs for the entire fami...

Crossett Brook Middle Schoolers pull out invasive honeysuckle This Sunday, September 25, we invite everyone to join us in helping wage the "War of the Weeds" as part of National Public Lands Day.   Come to Little River State Park at 10:00am. Park Interpreter Brian Aust will lead volunteers through the park removing invasive honeysuckle plants while teaching participants about invasives in Vermont. National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy. On September 24, 2011, over 170,000 volunteers will plant trees, remove trash, and build trails at public lands across the nation. Last year, volunteers and community partners contributed an estimated $15 million of improvements to over 2,000 public land sites. You can join in the effort too by doing your own War on Weeds on your property! Read more about Brian's fight below: Brian's "War on Weeds" program caught the...